Pipe-coupling.



J. C. MELOON.

PIPE COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED 1AN.2,191s.

Patented Apr. 1, 1919.

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to recover the value of metal in them.

J'ONAT C. MELOON, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, AS'SIGNOR TO GENERAL FIRE EX'rrNeUIsHEn com New YORK,

, OF PROVIDENCE, lIIEtI-IOIDE ISLAND, CORPORATION 0F PIPE-COUPLING.

To ZZ'wwm z't may concern Beit known that I, JONATHAN C. MnLooN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented new and useful Improvements in Pipe-Couplings, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in pipe couplings. p

In oice buildings Which rise above the height that can be reached by fire fighting forces from the street, it is necessary 'to maintain stand-pipes with outlets for connections with hose on the upper floors. Brass couplings are used, because of the necessityof so providing that the parts shall not stick together when needed for use. The maintenance of these connections in proper Working order is the occasion of considerable expense for labor of inspection and for replacement of stolen parts. 'Experience has shown that thieves make a regular practice of removing the coupling including attached ose order to melt them or by other means Through a period of years, no effective preventive has been discovered, because the devices which such persons may adopt, to make their presence in theV building and their handling of the fire prevention apparatus seem proper and authorized, are too easily successful. A considerable lnumber ofbuildings are thus robbedevery week, with resulting derangement of the fire extinguishing apparatus and great danger to the building in case fire breaks out, as well as with incidental' cost of replacement of parts, and eXtra cost of inspection todiscover such losses.

It is a lparticular object of the present invention to prevent thieving of this sort. The invention is, however, applicable to couplings used in other locations, as between lengths of hose, and in other places where pipe couplings are employed; and it has other advantages as it reduces the cost of non-sticking couplings very considerably.

The objects of the invention are accomplished by eliminating from the coupling the brass which is the incentive for theft. As the size and strength of the parts can not be materially reduced from that hitherto in use, and no material cheaper than brass is known, of which the coupling as a Whole Specification of Letters Patent.

" Application filed January 2, 1918. Serial No. 209,885.

can be made, the invention accomplishes the desired end by making a'construction and combination of parts in which the major portion of the coupling is of a cheaper material, and one of the elements of the coupling is a composite structure including -an interior small portion of brass suitablyl located. Specically, the material which it is preferred to use is iron, fory the main body of both coupling members. This comprises the whole of the male member of the coupling and comprises nearly the whole of the female member; but the latter is madeI of three separablepieces, one being the customary swivel piece which is adapted to screw upon the male member, another being a nipple or end therefor adapted to be attached to the hose or other piece which is to be coupled, and the third being a piece of brass mechanically interloc'ked with and surrounded by these two, and serving to join them. The brass vconstitutes the portion of the female member on which the swivel part is mounted irremovably and.on which it turns, and affords surfaces facing against all contacting surfaces of the swivel so that none ofthe latter rub against any iron'lon the female member.` The result is a coupling having the necessary mechanical and structural features of the couplings hitherto in common use, yet devoid of the metal value which constitutes the incentive for theft of the same.

In the accompanyingdrawings, which illustrate an embodiment of the invention?- Figure l is a side elevation of a stand pipe withoutlet and hose;

Fig. 2 is a medial, longitudinal section through a coupling, with the parts ready to go together;

Fig. 3 is a similar section through one of the pieces thereof at a preliminary stage of manufacture; and a Fig. 4 is a transverse section at 4 4 through a fragment of F ig.

Referring to' the drawings, 10 indicates a stand pipe, having a branch outlet closed by a valve Whose discharge pipe 11 constitutes one member of a coupling fora hose ipe. This member has a screwthrea ed portion 12 upon which the other member of the coupling fits, and terminates 1n the usual annular which an annular the other member without adhering to each other.

member 11, which is portrayed as the male member of the coupling, may be a tubular piece 'of any ordinary or suitable size and shape and is made of inexpensive, non-rusting material such as galvanized or malleable iron, having an external thread to engage the female member of the coupling. he latter consists of the swivel tube 17; the base tube, or end, 15, of the coupling, and a connecting tube or thimble 18, all vof similarly inexpensive material, such as galvanized iron, except the thimble 18. The base tube 15 is represented as adapted to be permanently atta-ched to a line of hose, and for this purpose has internal corrugations 16, against which the hose can be expanded and held by an internal brass ring 16. The swivel has the usual thread adapted to engage the threaded portion 12 of the male member of the coupling, to be readily screwed on and off in order to'make and unmake the coupling. By cutting these threads a little too deeply for ordinary fitting and thenL applying a galvanized coating they can be made smooth enough and of proper size to perform their functions as threads adequately, rlhe swivel tube 17 has-the projecting pins 19, diametrically opposite each other, adapted to be engaged and turned by a spanner; or has other suitable means by which this piece can be turned uponl the screw threads 12 of the' other member connecting piece or thimble 18 is a ring mounted internally and adapted to be arranged between the two pieces v15 and 17 of the female member of the coupling, separating them from each other and at the same time holding them together, and also. constituting the compression member which seats the washer or other lpacking 14 upon the end 13 of the male member 11. As this piece 18 ispreferably made of brass, and the piece 15 'is of galvanized iron, means is provided to attach these two together consisting of a screw thread 20 cut on the 1nside of the base tube 15 and onthe outside of the connecting tube 18; and the latter v face is thus seated against has a an'ge 21 extending straight out and adapted tobe seated upon the end of said base tube 15 when the connecting ytube 18 has been screwed tightly into it. When the connecting tube has thus been screwed firmly to its seat it may be secured there by a pin 26. Preferably this flange is not equal in width to the thickness of' the metal of the base tube, and' the latter is formed with a projecting lip 22 and its outeredge is adapted to overlie and inclose or cover the outer edge of the flange 21, when its inner the end tube 15.

' The other face of the projecting flange 21 is adapted to engage the nearby face of the swivel tube 17. Thus it intervenes between the base tube 15 and the swivel tube of the coupling. The

' iron, it

maaar-.i

extending terminal flange 25. 1n order to l construct this, the connecting piece 18 is made in the form marked 1-8 and shown in Fig. 3, where the piece is shown as having the same shape as in the flange 23, there, marked 23, lstands nearer the axis, and the neck 24 stands in conical shape, being marked 2-1. The elements of this cone, as represented, make an angle of about 12 with the axis. rlhe ex- `treme outer .diameter of the flange 23 when in this position is small enough to pass through the hole through flange 25 on the swivel tube 17 The flange portion 23 of the connecting tube, being inserted into the swivel tube 17 through the end where flange 25 is, is afterward expanded'by a suitable tool so that the conical neck 24 becomes cy lind'rical in form, as shown at 21'in Fig. 2. The thimble 18 and the swivel tube 17 are thus permanently engaged together, with a loose engagement of one flange behind the other which permits the usual -action of the swivel piece.

The elimination of danger of adhesion of parts by rusting or otherwise is made possible by the three part construction and by the selection. for the connecting iece of a homogeneous met-al that is capa le of being bent in the expanding process vwithout the production of superficial cracks or other injurious developments that would render it liable to rust or stick. It will be observed` Fig. 2, except that parts 17 and 11, because these contacting surfaces can be galvanized as separate exposed surfaces, the engaging flange 23 and neck 24C cannot be madel of galvanized iron with good effect.

- The invention, consequently, makes it possible to produce what has heretofore been impossible, so far as I am aware, viz: a co-u- A pling of galvanized iron which is capable of meeting the standard requirements of fire underwriters and the like as regards safety and constant readiness for use. While the new coupling is not entirely of galvanized is nevertheless true that the inserted thimble of other metal is so small in size,

and so secure vin position that it neither adds appreciably to the cost of the material which' constitutes this-member of the. coupling nor detracts appreciably from the strength nasceva thereof; moreover, it is not centive for theft, and vif stolen gives no worth while return'for the effort and cost involved in extricating it. In consequence,

the invention makes possible the use of what are practically galvanized iron couplings,

Y Where 'formerlyr -only .couplings of much more expensive metal have been used because of theunsuitability of galvanized iron.

Thereby it puts an end tothe thievery of coupling members from stand-pipes and the like, against which thus far no adequate means of protection has lbeen found, and so enhances the security Aagainst fire, inl the down-town ofiice buildings of large Vcities and at the same time notably reduces the cost of the constant inspection needed to maintain not only the degree of security which has heretofore been had, but the enhanced security which the use of the invention affords.

While the invention is illustrated as it maybe applied toa screw coupling, it may be applied to couplings in which a different method of fastening is used. i

The screw method is also illustrated as the means employed .to provide a firm joint without leakage of water between the base Atube 15 and the connecting tube 18. It has been found by experience that no washer or packing is needed between the Hange 21 of the latter and the end surface of the base tube 15 .upon which this iange is seated; but it is obvious that such packing might be inserted if desired, or that other means might be employed for making the connecting tube fast with a water-tight joint within th'e base tube.

I claim as my invention 1. A pipe coupling one of' whose members comprises a base tube, a swivel tubeand a connecting tube; the connecting tube having an unstretched metal portion fast to the base tube, and the swivel tube being mounted on the connecting tube and adapted to be secured to the other member ofthe coupling and thereby to hold the twomembers of the coupling tightly together; the saidconnectmg tube 'being made of materialof a nature not to adhere to the swivel by corrosion or the like tact between said base and'swivel.

2. A pipe coupling having a member comprising .a base tube, a connecting tube fast to the base tube, and a swivel tube mounted on the connecting tube and adapted to be secured to the other member of the coupling and thereby to hold the two members of the coupling tightly together, the said connectvisible, as an inand having a part preventing coning tube having an unstretched metal portion fast to the base tube and 'being made of noncorrodible material, the said base and swivel being made of iron, and there being noncorrodible material intervening and preventing contact between the swivel and the base. 3. A pipe coupling having a member comprisingla base tube, a connecting tube fast to the base tube, and a swivel tube mounted on the connecting tube and adapted to be secured to the other member of the coupling and thereby to hold' the two members of the coupling tightly together, the said connecting tube being arranged internally of and unstretched within the base tube and having two external ridges, one of which projects between the base and the swivel tubes and the other of which projects within the swivel tube and is too large to come out, andl being made-of material Vdifferent from that of the swivel and of a nature not to adhere thereto, and the said Ibase and swivel being made of relatively inexpensive material.

4. A pipe coupling having a member comprising a base tube, a connecting tube, and a swivel tube mounted on the connecting tube and adapted to be secured to the other member of the coupling and thereby to hold the two members of the coupling tightly together, the said connecting tube having a screw threaded water-tight joint with the base tube and a." head Iexpanded into the,

'swivel tube, and an intervening part separating the swivel from the base, and being made of material ldifferent from and of a nature not to adhere to that of the swivel; the said base' and swivel being made of relatively inexpensive material.

5. A pipe coupling having a member comprising a base tube, a connecting tube, fast to the base tube, and a swivel tube mounted on the connecting tube and adapted to be secured to the other member of the coupling and thereby to hold the two members of the coupling tightly together; the said connecting tube being screwed unstretched into the base tube and having externally thereof two flanges of larger diameter than the swivel, one of which is engaged and concealed within it and the other of which is outside it; and there being an annular lip of the base tube surrounding said outside flange; the

said base and swivel being made of relatively inexpensive material, and the said connecting tube being made of different material of a nature not to adhere thereto.

Signed by me at Boston, Mass., this four- I teenth day of December, 1917.

' JONATHAN C. .MELOON 

